My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner

Don’t be fooled by the title! Ben Hardy is a potato hating boy forced to take over as the school mascot – a potato! Let the hilarity commence.

Ben has recently moved from sunny California to potato loving Idaho. There are good things about the move. His parents got him a puppy, he’s made good friends in Ellie and Hunter, and he’s gone from book nerd nobody in his old school to trend setting cool guy in his new one.

Everything would be perfect if it wasn’t for potatoes. Why did it have to be potatoes? Ben has been cursed by the root vegetable since five years old, and now, through a series of unfortunate events, he has to take over as Spudsy, the school mascot.

Can Ben keep his life as a potato secret or risk losing his friends?

This is a fun middle grade book. I disagree with many of Ben’s choices – primarily his hatred of the humble prátaí – but his actions are realistic and understandable. Through all his mistakes, you know that he’s going to see the error of his ways and come around.

I award My Life as a Potato…